NEW HAVEN, Conn. (October 20, 2024) – For the Sacred Heart University field hockey team, Sunday was a chance to honor the contributions to the program from the squad's five senior student-athletes:
Megan Albert (Lansdale, Pa.),
Aine Keaney (New City, N.Y.),
Abby Lauer (Hummelstown, Pa.),
Samantha Maresca (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) and
Helena Stoever (Fair Haven, N.J.). Unfortunately for the Pioneers, once the ceremony was wrapped, Rider spoiled the party at Johnson Field. The Broncs used a trio of second half goals to take a 3-0 Northeast Conference victory.
The loss spells trouble for Sacred Heart's NEC postseason hopes, which are left hanging by a thread. While still mathematically alive, the Pioneers need wins in their final two league games, plus two losses each from LIU and Saint Francis. All of the above would allow SHU (5-10, 2-4 NEC) to leapfrog Stonehill and Saint Francis, tie LIU and take the tiebreaker from the latter.
Saint Francis hosts Fairfield next week and winless Merrimack on the final day of the season. LIU visits Rider on Friday, before what could be a pivotal showdown with SHU at Johnson Field on Nov. 1. Sacred Heart must first navigate a trip to Stonehill on Friday, with a win needed to ensure anything is up for grabs against LIU.
After the first half went scoreless on Sunday, Rider (9-6, 5-1 NEC) struck twice in less than four minutes, and three times in a span of 6:20, across the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth. In the final minute of the third, Valeria Perales put the ball towards the cage from high on the left side of the circle and Lyric Scott provided a deft tip en route for her fourth of the season.
In just the fourth minute of the fourth quarter, Perales doubled the lead, with a finish at the left post, off of a feed from Katie Wuerstle in the middle of the circle. Finally, in the 51
st minute, Pauli Theile carried down the right wing and fired a pass across to the left post, where Amanda Walker knocked it home. For Perales, it was her eighth goal of the campaign, while Walker notched her second.
The Pioneers were left to rue some missed opportunities, as the team generated eight corners on the day, including seven in the second half, but came away with nothing to show for it and utilized them to produce only four shots on goal. SHU really struggled to generate offense in the run of play. The Pios' first shot on goal of the day came amid the run of play in the second minute, but it was the only one of the team's five which did not come off a corner play.
Maresca (4-10) finished with five saves against eight shots on goal in front of the SHU net. Jade Regnart (9-6) stopped all four shots she faced in front of the Rider cage to collect her third shutout of the season.
SHU is on the road twice next weekend, beginning with an NEC contest at Stonehill on Friday. The Pios will travel to take on non-conference opponent Quinnipiac on Sunday.
